Moments
by nekilarose
Summary: While Kristen is in the hospital, Jubal reflects on a few moments they've shared.


_"__Okay I need an update, people!" Jubal paced around the JOC. "There's camera's all around that block, we should have had some kind of eye on this guy by now."_

_"__I found him!" The voice rang out amongst the general chatter. It came from one of the newer analysts; a recent transfer from some other department._

_"__Okay, what do you have?" He walked over to stand beside her chair. Her fingers flew over the keyboard with practiced ease as she brought up camera footage that managed to track their suspect's whereabouts. _

_Jubal quickly dispatched agents to the area before turning back to the analyst. "Great job…" He trailed off as he realized he didn't even know her name._

_The smile he got was blinding in return. "Kristen. I mean, Agent Chazal, sir." She hastened to add._

_Jubal patted her on the shoulder, "Jubal is fine. Sir makes me feel like I've been doing this too long." He smiled ruefully. "But, good job, keep it up." He suddenly realized that not only was his hand was still on her shoulder, but his thumb was moving back and forth in an absent manner._

_"__Thanks….Jubal." She gave him another dazzling smile before turning back to her monitors._

_He had always had a love-hate relationship with his name, but hearing it come from her made the scales tilt firmly in the 'love' direction._

* * *

SNAP!

The sharp sting of the rubber band brought Jubal back to the present. He was still at the hospital, still waiting on word about Kristen's progress, still hoping against hope that she pulled through.

SNAP!

He saw Maggie lift her head at the noise and shrugged self-consciously, "Coping mechanism."

Isobel came out to update them on Kristen's condition. She had a damaged carotid artery, and was being rushed into surgery at the moment. Isobel also advised them to head home and get some rest, and that she'll let them know when there's more information.

Jubal wanted to yell the building down. No way was he going to leave her there to wake up alone. But he knew then and there was not the time to blow up and expose their relationship. So he swallowed his rage and quickly left, not wanting anyone else to see just how effected he was by what was going on.

SNAP!

God he really wanted a drink right now.

* * *

_"__It's still raining." _

_Jubal looked over to see Kristen peeking out the window. Her face was scrunched up in the cutest frown (not that Jubal would ever tell her that, of course) and there was a definite pout on her lips. _

_"__News says it's supposed to continue until at least Sunday." Jubal saw her face drop even more, if that was possible. He turned away, going back to clearing the table, all the while hiding his smile. _

_"__Well there goes my weekend plans." Kristen turns from the window and plopped down on his couch. "Hey, I'm sorry to invade your space like this. I had no idea when I set out that it was going to start pouring."_

_"__You're not invading, and I don't mind the company." He finished loading the dishwasher and walked into the living room to see her leaning over the arm of his couch examining his record collection. "Those are what we old people like to call records." He teased, dropping down on his haunches next to the couch. _

_"__Ha, ha." She lightly smacked his shoulder, "It might surprise you, but not only do I know what these are," She selected one and held it up for him to see "I actually have this one too." She was holding a copy of 'Ascenseur pour l'echafaud' by Miles Davis. "Of course, the one I have is on C.D." She added with a shrug. _

_Jubal took the record from her and placed it on the turn top, he waited until he heard the first few notes then turned to offer her a hand. He was pleased to see there was no hesitation when she accepted. She stepped right into his space and slid her left hand over his upper arm, finally coming to rest on the nape of his neck. He held her other hand in his and led her in a slow waltz around the room. _

_"__You're not old."_

_"__Hmm?" _

_Kristen smiled up at him, and for a minute, all was right in Jubal's world, "You're not old."_

_He huffed out a laugh, "If you say so."_

_"__I do say so." He fought a shiver as she stroked the back of his neck. _

_He tightened his hold on her briefly before spinning her out and back in again, "Okay, you're the boss." He agreed, enjoying the way she looked at him with wide eyes at the unexpected move._

* * *

The first thing he did when he woke up the next day was check his phone for updates from Isobel. No, wait. That was a lie. The _first_ thing he did was sweep a hand out over her side of the bed. Knowing that she wouldn't be there, but still wishing somehow that the last 24 hours were a nightmare that he just woke up from.

Of course, he had no such luck. Her side of the bed was cold and unused. He rolled over and buried his face in her pillow, and inhaled deeply. It still smelled like the special concoction of shea butter, and a few other things that he had long since forgotten that make up the shampoo and conditioner that she used. Feeling tears well up he rose from the bed. There was too much to do for him to be wallowing in his own misery.

He was dealt another blow when he got to work and was informed that the bosses had already requested and received a replacement for Kristen. He knew it was just procedure, and it was nothing personal, but he felt the sting. No doubt, the others in the JOC would feel the same way. However, it was his job to keep things running smoothly, so he blazed over the introductions and handed out their current assignment.

SNAP!

Throughout the day, the only thing that kept him grounded was that damn rubber band. Whenever his thoughts veered into darkness, he forcibly snapped his way out of it.

* * *

_"__I can't believe I'm going to Quantico!" Kristen squealed as she read the letter from Dana once more. "I need to find a frame for this."_

_"__Okay, but" Jubal laughed as he wrapped an arm around her midsection to keep her close to him, "first things first." He backed her up against the hallway wall and leaned down to drop a kiss on her waiting lips. It was only supposed to be a congratulatory peck, but when he went to move back, Kristen grabbed a belt loop and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss, letting the letter flutter to the ground._

_She broke off the kiss to nibble down his neck, "I want to celebrate." She said while simultaneously unbuttoning his shirt. _

_Jubal groaned softly at her ministrations, "Well, I know a great place we can-ah, get some great Thai food." Even though his words were saying one thing, his actions were saying something quite different. His hands were currently helping Kristen remove his shirt. _

_"__Not really in the mood for Thai food right now." Kristen trailed her hands down to the zipper on his pants._

_"__Me neither." Jubal quickly bent down and lifted her up, striding purposefully into the bedroom._

* * *

SNAP!

"The surgical graft to Kristen's artery failed, so they're trying to fix it." As soon as they returned from the hospital, Maggie and O.A passed along what new information they were given by Kristen's doctors.

"Trying?"

"They say it's a difficult procedure." O.A supplied helpfully.

O.A's words bounced around in Jubal's head for the rest of the afternoon. Sure, he had most of his attention focused on the case, but the fact that Kristen was still not out of harm's way was never far from his mind.

SNAP!

* * *

Isobel's announcement that Kristen made it through surgery successfully was met with cheers from everyone on the floor. Jubal couldn't resist letting his own pleased chuckle escape before attempting to reign in everyone else.

He looked down at his wrist at the black band that symbolized so much more than just being a "coping mechanism". He flicked the band into the trashcan with gusto, Kristen was going to be okay, which meant they'd hopefully have a lot more moments to spend together.


End file.
